Travel Guide To The Low Veld

General Information About Harare

Chiredzi is a town located in the South East of Zimbabwe in the Masvingo Province. The town, Chiredzi, together with its sister town Triangle is a major centre of sugar production in the country. The name Chiredzi means “a place for line fishing”. Many parts of Chiredzi is unfit for agricultural production except sugar cane and small grains production hence Gonarezhou National Park was established. The Growth of the town is mainly attributed to the sugar cane industry.
In terms of surface area, Chiredzi is one of the largest areas in the country with over 95% of the area taken by the Gonarezhou National Park and the Conservancies like Malilangwe and Save Valley. Chiredzi is served by a small international airport at Buffalo Range called the Buffalo Range Airport and to other road port entries that is the Beitbridge- Border Post (Zimbabwe boardering South Africa) and Sango Border Post (Zimbabwe boadering Mozambiques).
The region falls as a Tourism Designated Zone meaning it has room for investment potential and infrastructural development. In terms of uniqueness, the first ever Trans Frontier Conservation Area is found in South Eastern Lowveld consisting of Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique.
South Eastern Lowveld region is a central hub for cultural tourism second to Bulawayo. Chiredzi has two vibrant surviving Community Based Tourism projects namely the Khambako Cultural Home by Malilangwe Trust and the Mahenye Cultural Village by Chilo Lodge.
The area receives an average 450mm of rainfall per annum. Crops like maize are not guaranteed of good yields. Livestock farming is ideal for the area.
The area is sparsely populated with the dominate people being the Shangaan and most people speak shangan a dialect that is related to both Zulu and Ndebele. The area is a hub for Cultural Tourism with the popular Shangaan and they celebrate the following cultural events annually:
• Great Limpopo Cultural Fair
• The Machangana Festival
• The Ndau Festival
• The Saila Traditional Fishing Ceremony